Fiber articles, such as mats and the like



June 3, 1941. 4 A Q FISCHER 2,243,857

FIBER ARTICLES, SUCH AS MATS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 2F

Patented June 3, 1941 man ARTICLES, lSUCH As MATS AND THE LIKE Albert C.Fischer, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 26, 11936, 'Serial No. 65,841

zo claims.

This invention relates to the utilization of waste farm products andinvolves the utilization of such fiber products as straw, corn stalks,cane ber, shredded fibers, of Various kinds, waste fibrous materials, orbrous materials which may occur in abundance and which will be availablefor various manufacturing purposes.

The object of my invention is to manufacture and prepare this wastestraw, fiber, etc. into a compacted sheet without digestion asdistinguished from such process as precedes the manufacture of Wallboards and the like. The object of my invention is to take the rawmaterial,

place it in a compacting machine, either alone or together with othermaterials, and form Various articles of manufacture. The purpose is toutilize a compacting machine somewhat on the order of a mechanical haybaler. The present process, however, involves a machine which willmanufacture sheets one quarter of an inch to one inch or more inthickness, by no means approximating the dimensions of a bale of hay ora bale of shavings. The sheets are preferably made up to 48 inches inwidth and to the thickness enumerated. The sheets are formed by placinginto a receptacle the necessary ber and continuously impacting itbetween spaced walls and thru the impacting device interlacing orintertwining the bers so as to make a cohesive, interlaced mat. Anapparatus for producing a sheet mat of the type described above is fullydisclosed in my copending application Serial No. 80,465, led May 18,1936, entitled Compacting apparatus and method.

One of the features of the process would be to provide equipment with adevice for threading these mats so that when they are released from thepressure they will be controlled more or less to the size to which theyhave been compacted. Where adhesion is depended upon by the fibers tomake the sheet cohesive and remain to auniform Ymay be produced by acompacting action in a compacting machine which is operated by a strokethrust, by compacting, by extrusion and by compacting by a stroke thrustin which the compactedmaterial is traveled upon a foundation sheet. Thesimplest form of my invention relates to a fibrous mat compacted in amanner so that the thrust arm of the compacting device pushes andinterlaces the fibers in the mat being created,

and by forcing fibrous material thru a conned area which causes it tocompact and depend upon the thrust for forward travel.

My invention relates to treating this compacted mass either with anadhesive binding material which may be added, or with its own adhesivematerial self-contained, or thru a stitching means to keep the materialcompacted to its form while in the machine after its release from themachine.

One of the features of my invention is to utilize waste material on thefarms and 'facilitate the spreading of fibrous materialfor mulching orother purposes.

Another feature of my invention consists in a compacted mat of fibrousmaterial held together in a compacted form and utilized between a roadsurfacing and the sub-soil, as a protective covering over hot beds, aslitter for animals or poultry, as an insulation means for crude wall andhousing purposes, and also for an overlay over concrete roads as amoisture preserving means in the concrete, and the' possibilities oflater use for mulching purposes. This mat may also be used as anunderlay on roof decks under waterproofing paper or roofing materials,and consists in its simplest form of mats `from one-quarter to twoinches in thickness and ranging from 12 to 48 inches in width and inlengths from three to ten feet or longer. Where utilized for thispurpose these mats are fabricatedV from undigested fibrous material,although there is nothing to -either on a compacting machine, anextrusion machine or if preferred may be rolled where consistent. Thesesheets are prepared by mixing fibrous material with the clay, and whereit is prepared from dry materials the sheet would be prepared bycompacting the straw and powdered clay in a compacting machine aspreviously described. In. transportation some of the clay would be lost.which was not held in position by the fibrous material, but Where theclay was used mixed with the fibrous material it could be preparedeither in the compacting machine or in an extrusion press or underrolls. My fibrated clay sheets are for the purpose of providing a claylayer where it is desirable to preserve moisture in upper strata insoils where there isvery little clay evident. These may be-in the wet ordry state, or in powdered clay form, and these clay sheets mixed withstraw may further be used as covering material by baking the clay in thestraw and imparting thereto rigidity and permanency. These clay sheets,therefore, serve in a powdered fibrous form, in a wet clay fibrous form,in a dry compacted clay fibrous form, in a baked clay fibrous form, orin an oiled clay form, covering a very great diversified use for thistype of material.

Another feature of my invention is to utilize muck in much the samemanner with fibrous material, which more readily lends itself to mixsture with this fibrous matter in the dry form.

When mixed in the wet form with fibrous material and later dried orbaked I would be providing an acid condition in the soil and likewisewould be providing a moisture retarding means in the soil, at the sametime forming a mulching or peat bearing layer, which may be readilyutilized in soils where plants desiring this foundation may beaccommodated.

Another featutre of my invention is to form 'a lime bearing, fibrous,compacted sheet, as shown in Fig. 2, for soils which are negligible inlime, and particularly in sandy soils where it is diflicult to hold thelime in suspension in a satisfacing the soil which is negligible inthese qualities over it.

Another feature of my invention is to provide these compacted fibroussheets containing fertilizer, plant food, nitrogen or hydrogen elements,in much the same manner as described above,

and utilize them for agricultural purposes, as

shown in Fig. 2.

Another feature of. my invention is to provide these same fibrous sheetsas linings for poultry houses. and in such case insecticides areincorporatedwith the fibrous material and compacted y into these fibroussheets. I also prepare these sheets in various thicknesses as mulchcovering sheets, both for utilization above the ground and below theground. In such instances I may incorporate therein `various ingredientswhich would -be helpful to plant growth, particularly where sheets suchas these were utilized around broad-leaved evergreens, which requiretreatment from time to time of such products as aluminum sulphate,tannic acid and other acid forming products'helpful to the soilsurrounding this type material upon a base sheet and suitably fasteningsaid fiber thereto, as shown in Fig. 5.

I may likewise take a base sheet of a very thin tissue paper or othertypes of paper, impregnating same with an adhesive glue, waterproofed orotherwise, or other colloid substances, which may cause fibrous matterwhich comes in contact therewith to adhere to one or both sides thereof.Or I may mix a fibrous material with some of this colloid matter and bysuitable compression form a very thin sheet of the coarse, brousmaterial by pressure rolls, which would press together a sheet as thinas als of an inch. I likewise may take digested fibrous material andpress the same to the thinnest possible dimension, making a continuoussheet and drying the same for the purpose of creating an emulsion sheetor a suitable base sheet for clay deposit or other earthy materials orfertilizers, for the purpose of placing the same in the soil.

In preparing these materials for manufacture I prefer to use them intheir natural dry state, but where compacted they may be utilized in awet state and may previously have gone thru a digesting process, such asis customary with insulating fibers and paper bers. In either case thematerial would be compacted but in one case it would be dried by aheating process after being compacted. On the thicker sheets thepreferred form is a compacting process rather than a rolling process. Onextremely thin sheets where mulching materials and depository linings orfertilizers and soils are to be considered I may squeeze this material4between heavy rolls in order to reduce it to lthe thinnest possibledimension. Where the fibrous material is undigested I may use anysuitable colloid binder or I may use varnishes, resin, formaldehydeproducts, water-A proofed glues, ordinary glues, in either widelydiffused or concentrated form, as may be required, or I may use astitching or binding means where it is desirable. I likewise may usesuch binders as clay, peat and other soil binders, where desirable toincorporate certain soil with the fibrous material.

Where rolls are utilized there, of course, would be no compactingmachine employed. This material before compacting may be mixed insuitable mixers. Where the fiber and soil elements are to be in intimatecontact the material may be suitably compacted thru an extrusionmachine, or where it is desired to have a consistency which permits suchoperation, or the soil elements may be placed upon the already compactedsheet in the shape of an emulsion or a plastic mass spread over thesurface of one or both sides, the purpose being to provide a mattedmaterial which could be readily placed under diflcult soil conditionsand preserve moisture and at the same time furnish a fertilizer in thesoil, or where the material is to be used in thin sheets for mulchingpurposes the soils conditioner may be placed oyer flbrous material as athin veneer or wash. AThis would be for application to the surface ofthe soil rather than being imbedded in the soil.

I, therefore, provide for compacting sheets in a thicker form, in verythin layers, in a gathered form, in which` the fibers are laid inregular form, for instance, as for thatching. I also provide a sheet inwhichthe surfacing is placed on a base sheet fiatwise, and a sheet inwhich the fibrous material is compressed underheavy rolls and used as amulching sheet. .Another regular alignment and. mounting said compactedform is a sheet in which the fibrous material is adhesively fastened andcompressed to a very thin sheet or adhesively fastened to a base.Another form is that in which the fibrous material is mixed with clay,peat, or other soil mixture for the purpose of furnishing a waterpreserving means, a fertilizing means and a soil treatment means.

It is readily understood that I may use waterproofing means to effectwaterproofing conditions in the various sheets and likewise I may usereproongmaterials to effect fireproofing qualities in the fibrousmaterial.

It can be readily understood that I may take the fibrous material andmix it with a binder and compact it. I may take fibrous material and mixit with earthy materials in a dry state and compact it. I may also takefibrous material and mix it with earthy materials in a wet state andcompact it, later drying out the moisture, or I may take fibrousmaterial without any additions except a binder, such as, silicate ofsoda, vegetable glue and various colloids which might do for bindingpurposes. Where wet clays, peat or other soils are used in conjunctionwith the fibrous material I may extrude these sheets rather than compactthem thru an extrusion press or suitable brick making machine, in whichthe die would be adapted for extruding wide or narrow sheets, thepurpose being to facilitate the use of various soils in places wheresandy soils are predominant and furnish clay from nearby clay beds forthe benefit of those requiring clay strata to preserve moisture in thesoil.

I may also take these same compacted sheets, immerse the same in anemulsion or a liquid of various types, and further compact the same in apress to effect a denser mat, or I may previously mix binding materialin with the coarse, fibrous material in an undigested state, compact thesame and later further press the same in a hydraulic press to obtainstill more compacted sheets.

In fabricating this product I do not Wish to be limited to undigestedfibrous material but I may use digested material and use the naturaladhesive which is formed from `the digestion process as a bindingmaterial for the fibrous material, but insofar as compacting and sheetforming is concerned it would be prepared in the same manner.

Another feature of my invention is to prepare a preformed sod in sheetform, which comprises a mixture of fibrous material and earthy material,the earthy material to be of a consistency which will quite readilyadhere, and also to contain necessary plant foods and fertilizer for theproper development of a good sod. It may be desirable to line the bottomof this sheet with a layer of clay in order to keep the moisture in theearthy material comprising the upper layer, as shown in Fig. 3. In thissense it would also be a laminated sheet in that it would contain amoisture preserving means as well as the earthy means for the growth ofthe seed planted therein. The laminated sheets may assume the form of acore of undigested fibrous material coated with clay and held betweensheets bonded to the side or sides thereof by an adhesive binder asshown in Fig. 4. Furthermore, the laminated fibrous sheet may havecenter laminations comprising a mixture of undigested fibrous materialand lime with fibrous material on opposite faces of the centerlaminations, as shown in Fig. 5. If desired, the center laminations mayconsist of clay without necessarily'being bound together by theundigested fibrous material. In Fig. 6 is shown a plurality of layers ofcompacted undigested fibrous material, each of which may be modified bythe addition of materials for specific purposes, such as clay, lime,earthy materials, fertilizer, plant food, seeds, or insecticides.

This sheet may be prepared merely in the fibrated, earthy form, or itmay be prepared in the fibrated, earthy form with a clay liner, or inthe fibrated earthy form having seed contained therein, the purposebeing to ship this prepared sod to the place Where it is to be utilizedas a cover for grass and sod purposes.

In the manufacture of thesheets herein described, the matted sheets offibrous material would be constructed primarily of such material aswheat or oat straw, flax, hemp, rye, in fact any fibrous material whichmay prove satisfactory and which may be available.

The fibrous matter in its compacted state would be stitched withsuitable twine or if it was preferred to use an adhesive binder, suchbinding material as silicate of soda, Waterproof glues, syntheticresins, and like materials may be employed by mixing the adhesivematerial with the fiber material either at the time of mixing or byallowing same to percolate through the sheet in a liquid form. In eithercase the sheet would be flexible and suitable for handling.

Where the sheet is prepared with earthy material, fiber to the extent offifteen or twenty per cent may be mixed with the earthy material andcompacted into sheet form. Where it is desirous to use a fibrousmaterial with a very slight admixture of earthy material, the compactingand stitching would be done in much the same manner as the previouslydescribed sheet.

Where clay is mixed with the fibrous material, thirty per cent or moremay be employed in admixture with the wet plastic clay and eitherextruded or compacted into sheet form. The sheets may also be fabricatedby mixing the fibrous material with lime and then compacting same intosheet form by stitching or otherwise.

Likewise, the fibrous material may be placed in an insecticide liquidsolution, suitably dried. and compacted and fabricated into sheet formas previously described, or the dry straw sheet may be immersed in theinsecticide or fertilizer solution for the purpose of coating thismaterial with these solutions and later drying them.

Such insecticides as solutions prepared from tobacco stems, dustingmaterials, arsenate 0f lead powder, copper solution, Black Leaf,Bordeaux lime, sulphur and numerous others may be employed. Wherefertilizer solutions are used, such materials as the usual nitrates,-potash substances, plant foods, blood and bone, bone meal, sheepmanure, aluminum or ammonium potash, sulphate nitrate and numerousothers.

The exact proportions for the manufacture of these sheets will depend agreat deal upon the distance they must be shipped and how they must betransported. Also various mats for different localities will befurnished from various earthy substances peculiar to the locality, and,therefore, ingredients will have to be examined and such propertiesadded as will bring them up to the highest efficiency. This can readilybe ascertained by the proper tests and such fertilizer and plant foodsadded as to bring the fibrated sheet up to its proper strength andeectiveness.

Another feature of my invention is to fabricate fibrous mulching mats,either for the purpose of placing over the surface of the soil orplacing within the soil for the purpose of retaining moisture andeventually as a leaf mould or fertilizing material in the soil.

I do not Wish to be limited in the type of fiber or in the finishedsurface material which may be produced in this manner. Any of thevegetable, grain or plant fibers may be utilized in whole or in part,shredded or in full, preferably in an undigested state. Y

I do not wish my invention to be limited to undigested brous materialwhen digested brous material may give as'good results, although the rawfibrous material will make a coarser and more economical product thandigested vegetable matter, which would be broken down more or less thruthe digesting process.

Various modifications of fibrous matted material rather than limitationsto specific kinds are intended and I, therefore, do not wish to belimited to any particular type of fibrous material. My inventionprimarily consists of the compacting, binding together and preservationin sheet form of brous products, further in surfacing these products andincorporating therewith earthy materials and preparing thatchlikesurfaces welded with long straw ber, palmetto strands, or other suitabletough brous material suitable for this purpose.

The machine with which this fibrous material is to be compacted is fullydescribed in a separate application for Letters Patent, Serial No.69,814, led March 20, 1936, now Patent 2,200,269.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

l. A compacted fibrous mat comprising undigested fibrous material insubstantial alignment held together by an adhesive mass dispersedthroughout said fibrous material.

2. A compacted sheet comprising clay and undigested compacted brousmaterial in substantially aligned elongate form acting as a carrier forsaid clay.

3. An extruded sheet comprising a substantial proportion of clay mixedwith undigested fibrous material in substantially aligned elongate formacting as a carrier for said clay.

4. A preformed sheet comprising undigested fibrous material insubstantially aligned elongate form and coated with clay held betweensheets bonded to the side or sides thereof by an adhesive binder.

5. A preformed sheet comprising compacted undigested fibrous material insubstantially elongate alignment and earthy material dispersedthroughout said undigested fibrous materials.

6. A compacted sheet comprising undigested fibrous material in acompacted state ln substantially elongate alignment and agriculturalline dispersed throughout said fibrous material.

7. A soil sweetener comprising undigested fibrous material insubstantially elongate alignment and lime dispersed throughout saidfibrous material and preformed in sheet form.

8. A compacted fibrous sheet saturated with a lime'solution and dried.

9. A preformed fibrous sheet saturated with a lime solution and dried.

l0. A preformed sheet comprising undigested fibrous material in acompacted state, lime and earthy material.

ll. A preformed sheet comprising undigested fibrous material in acompacted state in Substantially elongate alignment and agriculturallime in a plastic state dispersed throughout said fibrous material.

l2. A preformed laminated sheet comprising undigested fibrous material,one of the lamina.- ticns containing agricultural lime.

13. A preformed laminated fibrous sheet, the center laminationscomprising a. mixture of undigested fibrous material in a compacted andaligned state and lime.

14. A preformed sheet comprising a plurality of outer and innerlaminations, the outer layers comprising fibrous material and the innerlayers consisting of clay.

l5. A preformed sod forming sheet comprising compacted undigestedfibrous material, earthy material and seed material.

16. A sheet comprising undigested fibrous material, a clay base and anearthy top suitable for planting seed therein.

17. A preformed sheet comprising undigested compacted fibrous materialin substantially elongate alignment and clay dispersed therethrough.

18. A flexible mat comprising undigested fibrous material mixed withclay, impacted and extruded.

19. A mat comprising undigested fibrous material mixed with clay,impacted and extruded.

20. A mat formed mainly of undigested fibrous material in layers havingtheir edges exposed on the sides of the sheet impacted together in adirection in the plane of the sheet and secured approximately in thisimpacted position.

' ALBERT C. FISCHER.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 21,2Li5,857. June 5,- 19M.

ALBERT C. FISCHER.

It 'is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page )4.,second column, line 6, claim 6, for the word "line" read --1ime; andthat the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

signed and Sealed this 21mm day of June, A. D. 19in.

l l Henry'v'an Arzidale,I (Seal) 4 ActingCommissioner of Patents.

